0845 number is perfect for businesses if you are looking for inbound calls. Imagine you call your bank or your insurance company to discuss some important details. As the call disconnected, your eyes got bruised to see the hefty call charges you paid for the call.
No matter how trivial your discussion was, you end up getting charged more than usual.
It usually happens when you call on 0845 or any other UK business number. What’s so special about these numbers?
Nothing special at all. People dislike them because they get charged mercilessly. On the other hand, businesses get help from these numbers. There are a lot of services like VoIP Business that help you get a 0845 code number.
Therefore, you must know what these numbers are, how much they charge you, and how to make cheap calls on these numbers.
Keep on reading this article to get answers to all these questions.
You can also read about: What are 10 Phone Number Search UK *FREE* Apps 2024.
What are 0845 numbers?
You might have heard about the business rate numbers, and if you don’t, you need not worry at all.
We will explain these numbers and why they are important for you.
These are non-geographical numbers that businesses use to get inbound calls. The most prominent non-geographical, inbound number you see when you want to call any business is 0845.
The main reason behind their popularity is the charges it levies on you when you happen to make a call on this number.
Read More: What is 929 Area Code? Why its Important
Unlike 0800, 0345, or any other geographical numbers, it has dual costs on your pocket. On the one hand, your call service provider charges you for making a call, which is evident when you call someone you have to pay for it.
On the other hand, you get charged a hefty amount from the number owner you called. You or someone related to you may have encountered such a number.
Don’t remember when you called on this number last time? Let us tell you why you called.
You probably have sent a parcel through a courier firm, or you are waiting to receive any courier. You called the courier company that might have used such a number.
Likewise, you happened to travel long distances via train or aeroplane. You called on such a number to book your tickets.
Similarly, you might have called on this number since you needed to have some information regarding any product or service. There are a plethora of other possibilities whatsoever.
Regulations on the use of business rate numbers
If you own a business that uses a number with a code like 084 onwards, or 09, you should stop using it.
Because these numbers may affect your business credibility; moreover, it can levy charges on you, as passed by the UK’s govt.
Actually, the law passed in 2014 by the UK’s parliament prohibits you from owning such numbers. Are you worried about that? Wait, that doesn’t include all types of businesses.
If your business deals with other firms and companies in the B2B model, then you need not worry at all because you are exempted from this law.
However, if your enterprise deals with customers regularly, then you should define what type of business you do.
For example, you can’t use these numbers for customer care. Because in this way, they are paying for something they shouldn’t.
Suppose you buy some goods from a brand. After purchasing, you saw some defect in it, or you just want to replace it for some other reason.
Now it would be unfair to charge you for the call you made to exchange your goods. That’s why, being a business owner, you can’t use such numbers.
That doesn’t rule out these business rate numbers from the whole equation. Companies still can use them for technical services.
Why do businesses use the 0845 number?
You may wonder why companies in the UK use this number. There are some solid reasons behind it from the business point of view.
1. Branding your business:
First of all, with these non-geographical numbers, your business will get free from location constraints. Suppose you use a local service number as your company’s service delivery.
At any time, some unexpected signal problem may occur that stops you from getting calls from different countries.
In that case, you get confined to your locality. Thus, you would then miss a great audience resource all over the UK.
Second, it gives your business a national position. As a result, people see you as a big business in the market. Besides, it helps you create a brand for your business.
2. Undisruptive communication:
Thirdly, it helps you to streamline your communication in your workflows. Seamless communication is very important to get your business off the mark. Thus, it has an overall effect on the efficiency of your business.
3. Reroute your business:
The fourth and most incredible reason for using such numbers is that you can shift to any place on the earth without the fear of losing your credentials.
For one reason or the other, you plan to shift your business from the UK to the US. If you were using a local number, you would need to use another number in a different country.
Thanks to 0845, you can now reroute the same number to your new location.
4. Earn revenue:
Some companies use these geographical numbers to charge their customers intentionally. These businesses have incorporated the charges into the business model. For instance, they may divert those charges to pay their employees.
In Uk, Banks, insurance companies and sometimes hospitals use these numbers and earn profits that they utilise in their finances.
Is calling on the 0845 number expensive?
The simple answer will be a big yes. As you know, 0845 is the UK’s business number with unique features.
Although it may help businesses in many ways, it may be detrimental to your call costs. As these service numbers do not consume package minutes, they may hike your call tariffs.
If due to ill fate, you call on such a number, you will end up blaming yourself for not calling it. No matter how expensive they are, it’s not illegal to have an 0845 number for your company.
They are officially recognised numbers, and there are a lot of them in the UK.
Imagine you need to call for an emergency, and the number is 0845. You may find yourself in utter despair if you don’t know its charges.
For that matter, you first need to know some of the most commonly used non-geographical numbers in the UK.
The numbers that you should keep on your radar while calling any type of service are 0843, 0844, 0845, 0873, and 09 onwards.
Once you know these numbers, you can decide whether you have to call or not. You know that in the UK, you will find different service providers. Now each of them poses different charges for calling.
Generally, you can split those charges into two parts. The first one is the service charges, and the second one is the charges you pay to your company for calling.
When you call on any 084-onwards number, the company you called charges up to 7pence/minute. But the rates differ according to the code.
On the other hand, your service provider gets the access charges way more than you think.
Below is the list of different call companies along with their service charges.
| Service Providers in UK | Charge on Non-Geographical Number |
|---|---|
| Sky | 15p |
| Tesco Mobile | 25p |
| Post Office | 14p |
| BT | 1.96p |
| Pulse Net | N/A |
| Giffgaff | 25p |
| O2 | 65p |
| EE | Up to 67p |
| Vodafone | 55p - 65p |
BT was the UK’s first company to cut down calling costs on such numbers.
How do you call on service numbers at cheap rates?
Where there is a will, there is a way. There exist a slew of options that you can adopt to call on 08 numbers without a leap of heart.
Sometimes it becomes imperative to call on a service number. You have faced a lot of scenarios in your life. So, you simply can’t throw the idea of calling a non-geographical number out of the window.
Then, what will you do? Will you call the number on standard rates with the same service provider that charges you hefty fees?
Well, it’s your choice. You can go for it if you think you have enough money to waste. But what if you want to explore some other cheap options? Okay, let us tell you how you can get rid of the money you spend on these numbers
1. Select a package with your regular service provider:
Since you need to call frequently on 08 numbers, you fear getting excessively charged. You can simply call your service provider and ask for different packages. You may or may not get any reasonable package. But chances are there you find something worth using for you.
Call companies don’t want to lose their customers; moreover, they have created different strategies to give their services in the best possible way. Thus, to avoid any hassle, you should find a package with your phone company.
2. Try a free number:
Yes you heard it right. You can find a plethora of free number services. There are a lot of them on the internet. For instance, a website called say no to 0870 enlists substitute free numbers for a whole list of service numbers.
Usually, these numbers are very expensive to call. As a result, you can find an alternative solution to call on these numbers. For each service number starting with 08, you will get a list of free numbers with the codes 01, 02, and 03. So, you can use these numbers to call freely.
3. Use an override provider:
Some people may not know what override service providers are? While you may have used it already. These are like your regular call providers, but they are cheaper than your actual ones. After subscribing to any such supplier, you add a number before the original number to call on that number with much cheaper rates.
Unlike your regular call suppliers, your charges get added or deducted from your bank accounts or your credit cards. As a result, you become able to call that number at much cheaper rates.
How to get a UK business number?
Business numbers in the series of 08, and especially, 0845 are considered essential for businesses. Due to their benefits, people are always looking for such numbers. You can also get such a number very easily.
One way is to find a service provider that gives a number with an 08 code. However, you can also go for the VoIP Business platform which gives you virtual non-geographical numbers of your business.
Wrapping up:
Business rate and inbound phone numbers have advantages as well as disadvantages for people living in the UK. You may feel vulnerable when you have to call the NHS in case of emergency only to see that you get charged a massive amount for that call.
0845 numbers, however, provide several benefits if you are running a business. To illustrate, you can bring your business to a national presence. You may also shift your business anywhere without the fear of losing the number.
You may also get the chance to earn revenue from the calls. Yet, it’s not easy to maintain an expensive number like that. So, you can choose VoIP Business to get virtual numbers that provide the same services with fewer expenses. However, you get charged reasonable amounts when you call on such numbers. To find out how much expenses it incurs, you can see the service provider rates mentioned above in this article.
